AthlonSports.com - Washington Redskinshttp://athlonsports.com/category/nfl-teams/washington-redskins
en5 Coaches to Replace Fired Mike Shanahan in Washingtonhttp://athlonsports.com/nfl/5-coaching-candidates-replace-fired-mike-shanahan-washington
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>The Mike Shanahan Era ended weeks ago in Washington when the first reports surfaced of a rift between him and owner Dan Snyder. The rift was apparently over Robert Griffin III, the franchise quarterback, and there was no way that the coach could survive being on opposite sides of the owner over that.<br />&nbsp;<br />Maybe it was never meant to last anyway. They are two high-profile NFL people with major personalities and an apparent need for control. Things sure looked rosy in 2012 when they won a division championship, though we later learned that the seams were popping, even then.<br />&nbsp;<br />So now Shanahan leaves with a 24-40 record in four seasons, including 3-13 in 2013 &mdash; the Redskins&rsquo; worst record since 1961. Still, it&rsquo;s a good job with an owner that is willing to spend, presumably a franchise quarterback in place, and the talent left over from a division title just one year earlier. Maybe not everyone will want to work for Snyder. But with his money and the prestige of the job, it&rsquo;s possible he&rsquo;ll be able to lure anyone he wants.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px;"><img alt="Lovie Smith" src="http://images.athlonsports.com/d/31402-1/LovieSmith_2011_300.jpg" style="margin: 4px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; font-size: 16px; width: 200px; height: 319px; float: right;" /></strong>Who will that be? Here are five who will likely be at the top of Snyder&rsquo;s list:<br />&nbsp;<br /><span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Lovie Smith, former Bears head coach</strong></span> &ndash; Quite possibly the most respected name on the market, given the good work and rave reviews he got in his years with the Bears. He&rsquo;s known for his organization, his professionalism and having the respect of his players &mdash; and those are three things the Redskins absolutely need. The Bears, by the way, went 81-63 in his nine years as head coach and 10-6 in his final season. The only downside is the Redskins could have competition if they tried to hire him now.<br />&nbsp;<br /><span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Ken Whisenhunt, offensive coordinator San Diego</strong></span> &ndash; Not only is he having a very good year getting the most out of quarterback Philip Rivers with the Chargers, but he also had a pretty good run as head coach in Arizona where he &ndash; with the help of Kurt Warner &ndash; very nearly won a Super Bowl with one of the worst organizations in the NFL. He&rsquo;s an offensive whiz, too, which will help the development of RGIII, which stalled in 2013.<br />&nbsp;<br /><span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Jay Gruden, offensive coordinator Cincinnati </strong></span>&ndash; I know, everyone would prefer his brother, but the NFL has taken notice of what the &ldquo;other&rdquo; Gruden has done with the Bengals offense and specifically quarterback Andy Dalton. Again, he&rsquo;d be a great choice if Snyder&rsquo;s primary focus was finding someone who could turn RGIII into what he&rsquo;s supposed to be.<br />&nbsp;<br /><span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="Ar Briles" src="http://images.athlonsports.com/d/42273-1/ArtBriles300.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 261px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; margin: 3px; float: right;" />Art Briles, Baylor head coach</strong></span> &ndash; Of course, maybe nobody knows RGIII better than his college coach, who not only helped turn the quarterback into a star, but turned Baylor into a power. A perennial conference doormat, the Bears won the Big 12 this season and are on track to their fourth straight bowl game. He&rsquo;s a risky hire, but Snyder isn&rsquo;t risk averse and he won&rsquo;t be afraid of hiring a college coach. The downside here is he would be seen clearly as a choice to benefit RGIII, and it might be hard to ever separate the two in the future.<br />&nbsp;<br /><span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Russ Grimm, former Steelers and Cardinals offensive line coach</strong></span> &ndash; A very interesting name floated by the Washington Post. He&rsquo;s a beloved former Redskin and a Hall of Famer and a very well-respected offensive line coach who spent 2013 out of football. He was once a candidate to be the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers (and may or may&nbsp;not have been offered the job, depending on who you believe). He has no coaching experience above the offensive line, but many think he&rsquo;s qualified and he&rsquo;d electrify the fan base. A risky choice, but one that would be very popular.<br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>Some longshots<br /><span style="font-size:16px;">Bill Cowher, former Steelers coach</span></strong> &ndash; Most people swear he&rsquo;s done with coaching, but even if he does return he&rsquo;d likely be looking for an organization with stability. The Redskins most definitely don&rsquo;t have that.<br />&nbsp;<br /><span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Jon Gruden, former Bucs and Raiders coach </strong></span>&ndash; He may be the biggest, most electric available name and the feeling is that for the right price he could be lured out of the ESPN booth. He&rsquo;s been away from the game for a little while, though, and there are better candidates.<br />&nbsp;<br /><span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Bill O&rsquo;Brien, Penn State coach </strong></span>&ndash; It sounds as if he&rsquo;ll have his pick of jobs, and there may be no more attractive one than the Houston Texans. Plus, he comes off the New England coaching tree and there might be a little too much chaos in Washington for his liking.<br />&nbsp;<br /><span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator New England</strong></span> &ndash; A former head coach in Denver, he&rsquo;s got the credentials and the offensive background that most people think Snyder will favor. But there appear to be others higher on the list, and as another Patriot prodigy it&rsquo;s hard to see him jumping at the Redskins mess.</p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">&mdash; By Ralph Vacchiano, <a href="http://twitter.com/RVacchianoNYDN">@RVacchianoNYDN</a></span></p> </div></div></div>Tue, 31 Dec 2013 13:29:23 +0000Athlon Sports44920 at http://athlonsports.comTop 25 NFL Players on the Hot Seat in 2013http://athlonsports.com/nfl/top-25-nfl-players-hot-seat-2013
<div class="field field-name-field-subtitle field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Subtitle:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Darren McFadden tops our list of players under the most pressure this season</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-next-article field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Next Article:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">8 NFL Head Coaches on the Hot Seat in 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-articles field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related Articles:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/12-nfl-quarterbacks-hot-seat-2013">12 NFL Quarterbacks on the Hot Seat in 2013</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/nfl/12-nfl-running-backs-hot-seat-2013">12 NFL Running Backs on the Hot Seat in 2013</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/nfl/15-nfl-wide-receiverstight-ends-hot-seat-2013">15 NFL Wide Receivers/Tight Ends on the Hot Seat in 2013</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-homepage-featured-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Horizontal Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/DarrenMcFadden_hotseat_top25_1.jpg" alt="Darren McFadden" /></div></div></div><div class="field-collection-container clearfix"><div class="field field-name-field-whatreading-links field-type-field-collection field-label-above"><div class="field-label">What We&#039;re Reading:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-whatreading-links clearfix" class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-whatreading-links">
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</div></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-vertical-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Vertical Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/DarrenMcFadden_hotseat_top25_0.jpg" alt="Darren McFadden" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-feautred-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Square Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/DarrenMcFadden_hotseat_top25.jpg" alt="Darren McFadden" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-display-section field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Display Section:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/section/nfl">NFL</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-44 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Section:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/section/nfl">NFL</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-53 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">NFL Teams:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/49ers">49ers</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/arizona-cardinals">Arizona Cardinals</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/balitmore-ravens">Balitmore Ravens</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/baltimore-ravens">Baltimore Ravens</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/carolina-panthers">Carolina Panthers</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/chicago-bears">Chicago Bears</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/dallas-cowboys">Dallas Cowboys</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/denver-broncos">Denver Broncos</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/detroit-lions">Detroit Lions</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/green-bay-packers">Green Bay Packers</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/houston-texans">Houston Texans</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/indianapolis-colts">Indianapolis Colts</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/jacksonville-jaguars">Jacksonville Jaguars</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/kansas-city-chiefs">Kansas City Chiefs</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/miami-dolphins">Miami Dolphins</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/minnesota-vikings">Minnesota Vikings</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/new-york-giants">New York Giants</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/new-york-jets">New York Jets</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/oakland-raiders">Oakland Raiders</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/philadelphia-eagles">Philadelphia Eagles</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/pittsburgh-steelers">Pittsburgh Steelers</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/san-diego-chargers">San Diego Chargers</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/san-francisco-49ers">San Francisco 49ers</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/seattle-seahawks">Seattle Seahawks</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/st-louis-rams">St. Louis Rams</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/tampa-bay-buccaneers">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/tennessee-titans">Tennessee Titans</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/washington-redskins">Washington Redskins</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-54 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">NFL Players:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/darren-mcfadden">Darren McFadden</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/matt-schaub">Matt Schaub</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/tony-romo">Tony Romo</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/jay-cutler">Jay Cutler</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/maurice-jones-drew">Maurice Jones-Drew</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/danny-amendola">Danny Amendola</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/percy-harvin">Percy Harvin</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/ed-reed">Ed Reed</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/hakeem-nicks">Hakeem Nicks</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/ryan-mathews">Ryan Mathews</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/steven-jackson">Steven Jackson</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/demarco-murray">DeMarco Murray</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/darrelle-revis">Darrelle Revis</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/dashon-goldson">Dashon Goldson</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/philip-rivers">Philip Rivers</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/kenny-britt">Kenny Britt</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/jason-pierre-paul">Jason Pierre-Paul</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/demarcus-ware">DeMarcus Ware</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/anthony-spencer">Anthony Spencer</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/josh-freeman">Josh Freeman</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/jake-locker">Jake Locker</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/mark-sanchez">Mark Sanchez</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/montee-ball">Montee Ball</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/arthur-brown">Arthur Brown</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-players/ryan-williams">Ryan Williams</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/nfl-players/vernon-davis">Vernon Davis</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-68 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Miscellaneous:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/4751">Hot Seat</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-exclude-from-feeds field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Exclude From Games:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Include In Games</div></div></div><div class="field-collection-container clearfix"><div class="field field-name-field-must-read-links field-type-field-collection field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Must Read Links:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-must-read-links clearfix" class="entity entity-field-collection-item 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</div></div></div></div></div>Wed, 24 Jul 2013 12:00:05 +0000Mark Ross24826 at http://athlonsports.comWashington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles Preview and Predictionhttp://athlonsports.com/nfl/washington-redskins-vs-philadelphia-eagles-preview-and-prediction-2016
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFC%20East/Eagles/CarsonWentz_2016_325_philadelphiaeagles.jpg" style="width: 325px; height: 425px; margin: 6px; float: right;" />It&rsquo;s not how you start in the <a href="/nfl"><strong>NFL</strong></a>, it&rsquo;s how you finish.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Remember when the Redskins were 0-2? When the Eagles were 3-0? Both records seem like distant memories as the longtime NFC East rivals are set to meet again Sunday in Philadelphia. The Eagles, 1-5 in their last six games, have seen their early momentum evaporate. At 5-7, they&rsquo;ll likely need to win out for any chance at the playoffs; their focus already transitioning to player evaluation for 2017.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Redskins, by comparison are 6-3-1 since that rough start, giving them a shot at wild card berth. But two straight losses, both on the road, have worsened their position heading into this game. The Eagles are 4-1 at home with a plus-56 scoring differential while holding opponents to just 13 points per game at Lincoln Financial Field. Stung after an awful performance last Sunday at Cincinnati, head coach Doug Pederson hopes to have his team fired up and playing for pride.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Can Kirk Cousins lead Washington back toward the right side of the playoff picture? Or will this weekend be the one <strong>Carson Wentz</strong> breaks out of his funk?</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em><strong>Series History:</strong></em> Redskins lead 85-73-5, won 27-20 in Week 6.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Washington at Philadelphia</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Kickoff:</strong> Sunday, Dec. 11 at 1 p.m. ET<br />
<strong>TV Channel:</strong> FOX<br />
<strong>Spread:</strong> Redskins -1.5</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Three Things to Watch</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>1. Can Carson Wentz Turn It Around?</strong><br />
Wentz, starting the year as one of the sport&rsquo;s more promising rookies, landed with a thud last Sunday at Cincinnati. He&rsquo;s thrown six interceptions in the last three games, all losses while suffering through breakdowns on the offensive line. Sacked seven times, he&rsquo;s been under constant pressure while playing through injuries to some of his favorite weapons. Jordan Matthews, Ryan Mathews, and Nelson Agholor are just some of the offensive players that have missed missing time during this stretch. Matthews (ankle), Mathews (knee) and wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham (oblique) are listed as questionable for Sunday&rsquo;s game.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>One other stat in Wentz&rsquo;s defense: the team has been playing from behind, forcing him to throw the ball more. He had 60 pass attempts against the Bengals, easily the most in this season, but he also has made some flat-out poor decisions on this throws and should be held accountable for them.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Throwing interceptions is nothing new for a rookie quarterback. Future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning led the league with 28 in his first season back in 1998. The difference now is the NFL of 2016 doesn&rsquo;t come with as much patience. Wentz&rsquo; leadership in the locker room, as well as the reputation he&rsquo;s building, will fall flat if he can&rsquo;t start getting this funk turned around.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;How well he continues to lead this team down the stretch,&rdquo; Pederson <a href="http://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2016/12/what_does_eagles_doug_pederson_want_to_see_from_ca.html" target="_blank">told NJ.com this week</a> when asked what he&rsquo;s expecting from Wentz the final four games. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s obviously tough times right now. See how he manages that, see how he rallies from a quarterback leadership standpoint.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>2. Will The Redskins &ldquo;D&rdquo; Stop The Bleeding?</strong><br />
You have to go all the way back to October, a 16-10 win against the Ravens, to find the last time Washington allowed fewer than 20 points in game. The Redskins&rsquo; defense ranks in the bottom half of the NFL in total (369.6 ypg, tied for 23rd), scoring (24.6 pgg, 20th), rushing (114.3 ypg, 22nd), and passing (255.3 ypg, 19th) defense, as well as yards per play (5.8, 23rd).</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Last week, the &lsquo;Skins let a QB slumping just like Wentz look unstoppable. Carson Palmer, having a down year, threw for 300 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. David Johnson, one of the top rushers in the league, averaged 4.7 yards per carry, while Larry Fitzgerald recorded 10 catches.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Eagles don&rsquo;t have quite the same weapons, particularly at receiver, but that hasn&rsquo;t stopped other opponents from exploiting Washington&rsquo;s shoddy defense. The Redskins are last in the league on third down, allowing opponents to convert nearly half (48 percent) of their chances. Philadelphia&rsquo;s offense has been successful on 35.8 percent of its third down opportunities, just 26th in the league, but went 8-for-17 (47 percent) in last week&rsquo;s loss to Cincinnati. Washington will need to cut that down if it wants to get back into the win column on Sunday.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>3. Which Team Can Run The Football Better?</strong><br />
Both backfields have dealt with injuries this season, leading to unexpected starters. Rookie Rob Kelley has handled the bulk of the work for Washington after Matt Jones was hit by various injuries. Kelley&rsquo;s early starts were promising, peaking with 137 rushing yards against the Packers a few weeks ago, but he has fallen flat recently. A total of 100 yards on the ground in a two-game span won&rsquo;t get it done and puts more pressure on a passing game that may still be missing its top target, tight end Jordan Reed, who remains questionable for Sunday.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Philadelphia hopes to get Mathews back from a knee injury, but he too is considered questionable. Wendell Smallwood, the team&rsquo;s fifth-round pick, has been filling in, but he&rsquo;s averaging just 3.5 yards per carry over the last three games. Darren Sproles has made his share of plays, but he&rsquo;s more of a receiver out of the backfield and is effective as change-of-pace ball carrier rather than a workhorse.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Despite the injuries, the Eagles and the Redskins rank 10th and 11th, respectively, in rushing offense. Whichever team is more productive on the ground Sunday will likely be in a better position to win.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Final Analysis</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFL_Logos/2013Officials/Redskins.jpg" style="width: 100px; height: 108px; margin: 4px; float: right;" />Washington enters this game having dropped it last two games. Philadelphia has been a better team at home, but has lost three in a row and five of six overall. The Redskins have been the more consistent team on the whole and has done a good job beating teams they are supposed to beat. Four of Washington&rsquo;s five losses have come against teams currently leading or tied for first in their division. Expect that trend to continue on Sunday.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Prediction: Redskins 27, Eagles 20</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&mdash; Written by Tom Bowles, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="https://www.Twitter.com/NASCARBowles">@NASCARBowles</a>.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-event-sport field-type-list-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Sport:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> NFL</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sport-event-date field-type-datetime field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Sunday, December 11, 2016 - 13:00</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sport-event-location field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Lincoln Financial Field, 1 Lincoln Financial Field Way, Philadelphia, PA 19148</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-nfl-away-team field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Away Team:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/washington-redskins">Washington Redskins</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-nfl-home-team field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Home Team:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/philadelphia-eagles">Philadelphia Eagles</a></div></div></div>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 21:00:00 +0000Tom Bowles111663 at http://athlonsports.comWashington Redskins vs. Arizona Cardinals Preview and Predictionhttp://athlonsports.com/nfl/washington-redskins-vs-arizona-cardinals-preview-and-prediction-2016
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFC%20East/Redskins/KirkCousins_2015_300.jpg" style="width: 325px; height: 425px; margin: 6px; float: right;" />The loser of last year&rsquo;s NFC Championship Game, Arizona ended last season just one more win from making it to the Super Bowl.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Now? The Cardinals are just one more loss from playoff elimination.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Sitting at 4-6-1, one of the NFC&rsquo;s big disappointments must win at home this afternoon to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive. Their opponent, the Washington Redskins, currently sit in the second wild card spot at 6-4-1. A loss by the Cardinals drops them the equivalent of four games back with four to play, and on the wrong side of the head-to-head tiebreaker. It also puts Arizona at least three games behind Seattle in the NFC West. A late run to catch the Seahawks is already a long shot; lose Sunday and it&rsquo;s virtually impossible.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>This matchup centers around two quarterbacks heading in opposite directions. <strong>Kirk Cousins</strong> is on the rise, utilizing a variety of weapons in fighting back from an awful start to his season. Carson Palmer has been hurt, inaccurate and forced to rely on the running game to help salvage what&rsquo;s been a disappointing offensive effort all around.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em><strong>Series History:</strong></em> Washington leads 74-45-2 and has won eight of the last nine meetings.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Washington at Arizona</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Kickoff:</strong> Sunday, Dec. 4 at 4:25 p.m. ET<br />
<strong>TV Channel:</strong> FOX</p>
<p><strong>Spread:</strong> Cardinals -2.5</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Three Things to Watch</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>1. Palmer&rsquo;s Mistakes vs. Cousins&rsquo; Perfection</strong></p>
<p>Carson Palmer&rsquo;s play has puzzled observers one year after an MVP-type season where he hit career highs in touchdowns (35), passing yards (4,671) and QB rating (104.6). Palmer, despite being hurt and missing time this season, has as many interceptions (11) to this point as he did for all of 2015. Five of those picks have come after the Cardinals&rsquo; bye week, a time where he was supposed to get healthy but instead has struggled mightily against teams like the lowly San Francisco 49ers (1-10).</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Compare that to Kirk Cousins, peaking at the right time after a sloppy start. The last three games have been arguably the best stretch of his career &ndash; 1,086 passing yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions. His performance in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day kept Washington in that game. He&rsquo;s also been more aware in the pocket (sacked just six times in last seven games) as he&rsquo;s spread the ball around to unexpected targets like wide receiver Jamison Crowder and tight end Vernon Davis.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>If both men keep heading in the same direction, this game could turn into a blowout, and not for the home team. The pressure is on Palmer, at age 36, to prove he&rsquo;s not in the twilight of his career &ndash; a frightening prospect considering Arizona signed him in August to a one-year extension that takes his contract through 2018.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>2. David Johnson vs. Washington Rushing Defense</strong></p>
<p>If the Cardinals have a bright spot on offense, it&rsquo;s Johnson. Second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage and tied for the lead in touchdowns, Johnson remains a dynamic weapon in a year where the team&rsquo;s wide receivers (yep, even Larry Fitzgerald) have been wildly inconsistent. When the offensive line struggles, Palmer has turned to Johnson as his safety valve and the dynamic back has responded &ndash; 206 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the last three games.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>On the ground, though is where Johnson will try and pound through the Redskins&rsquo; 25th-ranked rushing defense. Ezekiel Elliott&rsquo;s 97 rushing yards and two touchdowns were keys to Dallas&rsquo; win on Thanksgiving, but Washington still has yet to allow a 100-yard rusher since Week 4. A strong start by Johnson could not only possibly put an end to that streak, it also could also help Palmer and the receivers discover their rhythm in the passing game.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>3. Who Replaces Jordan Reed?</strong></p>
<p>Reed put forth a gritty performance on Thanksgiving Day, recording a season-high 10 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns despite a shoulder injury. Unfortunately, the grade 3 AC joint separation that he suffered in his left shoulder will keep him out of this game, if not more.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>So who steps up in Reed&rsquo;s place? The aforementioned Davis is the obvious answer and he chipped in 68 yards last week. But a more promising sign for Washington was the performance of DeSean Jackson, who has been dealing with his own injuries. He finished with a season-high 118 receiving yards, including a 67-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Jackson has had 10 days to recover from that game and hopefully get back closer to full strength. With Reed&rsquo;s injury, Jackson&rsquo;s re-emergence as a big-play threat will be critical for the Redskins&rsquo; playoff aspirations.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Final Analysis</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFL_Logos/2013Officials/Redskins.jpg" style="width: 110px; height: 118px; margin: 4px; float: right;" />The Redskins are just 2-2-1 on the road but that record is better than it appears. The two losses were to Detroit, courtesy of a vintage two-minute drill orchestrated by Matthew Stafford, and in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day where Washington gave the Cowboys all they could handle. The Redskins should make easy work of a Cardinals team that&rsquo;s in need of a reboot.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Prediction: Redskins 27, Cardinals 14</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&mdash; Written by Tom Bowles, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="https://www.Twitter.com/NASCARBowles">@NASCARBowles</a>.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-event-sport field-type-list-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Sport:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> NFL</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sport-event-date field-type-datetime field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Sunday, December 4, 2016 - 16:25</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sport-event-location field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">University of Phoenix Stadium, 1 Cardinals Dr, Glendale, AZ 85305</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-nfl-away-team field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Away Team:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/washington-redskins">Washington Redskins</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-nfl-home-team field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Home Team:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/arizona-cardinals">Arizona Cardinals</a></div></div></div>Sun, 04 Dec 2016 13:30:00 +0000Tom Bowles111595 at http://athlonsports.comThanksgiving Day: Washington Redskins vs. Dallas Cowboys Preview and Predictionhttp://athlonsports.com/nfl/washington-redskins-vs-dallas-cowboys-preview-and-prediction-2016
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFC%20East/Redskins/KirkCousins_2015_300.jpg" style="width: 325px; height: 425px; margin: 6px; float: right;" /></p>
<p>It&rsquo;s an annual tradition across the country on Thanksgiving. Turkey. Pumpkin Pie. The Dallas Cowboys.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>While past editions of the <a href="/nfl"><strong>NFL</strong></a>&#39;s <a href="/nfl/thanksgiving-day-nfl-tv-games-times-schedule-channel-2016">Turkey Day games</a> have featured some mediocre (at best) squads, this year&rsquo;s matchups figure to be some of the best they&rsquo;ve ever been and that&rsquo;s highlighted by the <a href="/overtime/10-funniest-dallas-cowboys-memes-all-time">Dallas Cowboys</a> hosting the Washington Redskins in a meeting between two of the hottest teams in the NFC. Each squad is currently in the running for a top seed in the playoffs and the contest has serious divisional implications down the road.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Cowboys are of course led by their budding MVP candidates in rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and No. 4 overall pick Ezekiel Elliott. The backfield tandem has played a huge part in the team running off a franchise-record nine wins in a row and the offensive line has simply worn down opponents over four quarters on a consistent basis. The Dallas defense also has made huge strides in 2016 and is hoping to limit an opponent to 17 or fewer points for the seventh time this season.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>On the other sidelines, Washington has lost just once since falling at home to the Cowboys back in mid-September. While the team&rsquo;s defense has steadily improved as the year has gone on, it&rsquo;s the offense and quarterback <strong>Kirk Cousins</strong> that have exploded to the point where they&rsquo;re second in the NFL entering the week. While it&rsquo;s a short week, they routed the Packers on Sunday night and have plenty of confidence and momentum heading into Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>This will be the 114th meeting between the two bitter rivals that have combined for eight Super Bowl titles. The Cowboys own the series edge 67-44-2 and have won five of the last seven. However the Redskins have won three of four in Dallas, including a 34-23 thumping at AT&amp;T Stadium back in January and a seven-point win back when the two last met on Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Washington at Dallas</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Kickoff:</strong> Thursday, Nov. 24 at 4:30 p.m. ET</p>
<p><strong>TV Chanel:</strong> FOX</p>
<p><strong>Spread:</strong> Cowboys -6.5</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Three Things to Watch</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>1. Limiting the Cowboys&rsquo; Backfield</strong></p>
<p>The Cowboys have progressed from a nice story with Tony Romo out of the lineup to full-on Super Bowl contenders out of the NFC East thanks to the play of their rookie backfield. There&rsquo;s no question that the team&rsquo;s mammoth offensive line has played the starring role in that resurgence but Ezekiel Elliott has been able to rack up yards between the tackles and in the open field like the best back in football right now. Dak Prescott has slowly added more to his plate at quarterback and it&rsquo;s paying off as the passing game has become much more potent down the field. Washington is in the bottom half of the league in terms of stopping the run and has already given up 13 rushing touchdowns this season. The front seven has started to come on lately but the bottom line is this game will come down to the Redskins slowing down the Dallas rookies.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>2. The Kirk Cousins Show</strong></p>
<p>&ldquo;How do you like me now?&rdquo; Pretty good as it turns out. The Washington quarterback is coming off one of his best outings of the season (375 yards, three touchdowns) and has gone over the 300-yard mark five times this year. The talk is already heating up about the franchise ponying up and dropping a big contract offer on the table for the signal-caller and you can bet that a win over the Cowboys would help negotiations even more for the fifth-year veteran. Dallas&rsquo; defense has not been quite as good as others at pressuring opponents in the pocket but has made up for it on the back end in limiting some of the better QBs in the league in recent weeks. The last meeting between the two teams saw Cousins throw a costly interception and you can bet he&rsquo;ll be gunning for some revenge on Thursday with another aerial show.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>3. Tryptophan Effect</strong></p>
<p>While fans may long for a short cat nap at halftime after a bunch of turkey and stuffing, you wonder if each team might be in for a bit of a slow start given the short week each faces. This has been a particularly rough stretch for Washington, which flew back from London at the beginning of the month and then concluded a two-game home stretch with a late Sunday night win. Now the Redskins have to head to Texas with little practice time and needing to go through a crash course to install a new game plan. The Cowboys, meanwhile, have played three straight against the rough AFC North and also have to regroup after the short week. Thanksgiving Day games have their fair share of strange plays, mistakes and turnovers so it could be a little more of the same for these two.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Final Analysis</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFL_Logos/2013Officials/Cowboys.jpg" style="width: 120px; height: 111px; margin: 4px; float: right;" />The best and most interesting division in football this season has surprisingly been the NFC East and things are about to shift into a high gear as we enter the home stretch. The first of the big divisional showdowns starts on Thursday and it pits two of the hottest teams in the league who have lost just once since late September. Not just that, but the contrast in styles &mdash; Washington winning through the air, Dallas on the ground &mdash; makes this meeting a must-watch on your slate of things to do on Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Quarterback Kirk Cousins has plenty riding on a big win and can continue his stellar play of the last few weeks by picking apart a thin secondary. The Redskins also have received contributions from unexpected places like tailback Robert Kelly and wide receiver Jamison Crowder to turn into a playoff contender once again and a potential roadblock in Dallas&rsquo; dream season. It won&rsquo;t be easy, but Jay Gruden&rsquo;s team has all of the weapons to pull off a big upset and is playing much better than it was in the first meeting between the two franchises.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>But these Redskins will be running into a freight train heading downhill however, and in more ways than one. The Cowboys are not only winners of nine straight but they&rsquo;re rolling over opponents in unexpected ways. Their rookie backfield sliced and diced one of the league&rsquo;s best defenses on Sunday and is aiming to keep things going with a big win on Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>This has all the makings of a close contest that comes down to protecting the football, something Dallas does a bit better than its opponent. Playing at home in front of a turkey-fueled crowd will be enough to keep the win streak going but it won&rsquo;t be easy in this NFC East tussle.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Prediction: Cowboys 28, Redskins 24</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&mdash; Written by Bryan Fischer, an award-winning college football columnist and member of the Athlon Contributor Network. You can follow him from coast-to-coast on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat at <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanDFischer" target="_blank">@BryanDFischer</a>.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-event-sport field-type-list-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Sport:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> NFL</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sport-event-date field-type-datetime field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Thursday, November 24, 2016 - 16:30</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sport-event-location field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">AT&amp;T Stadium, 1 AT&amp;T Way, Arlington, TX 76011</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-nfl-away-team field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Away Team:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/washington-redskins">Washington Redskins</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-nfl-home-team field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Home Team:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/dallas-cowboys">Dallas Cowboys</a></div></div></div>Tue, 22 Nov 2016 15:45:00 +0000Bryan Fischer111469 at http://athlonsports.comGreen Bay Packers vs. Washington Redskins Preview and Predictionhttp://athlonsports.com/nfl/green-bay-packers-vs-washington-redskins-preview-and-prediction-2016
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFC%20East/Redskins/KirkCousins_2015_300.jpg" style="width: 325px; height: 425px; margin: 6px; float: right;" />A three-game losing streak for Green Bay? During head coach Mike McCarthy&rsquo;s tenure, such a slump was once deemed unthinkable. But that&rsquo;s their reality in 2016, a Packers team that seems to be struggling with issues as basic as motivation. A 4-5 record through nine games has critics warming to the idea one of the <a href="/nfl"><strong>NFL</strong></a>&rsquo;s longest-tenured coaches could find his job in jeopardy.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Quarterback Aaron Rodgers even hammered his teammates, claiming there was a lack of enthusiasm and encouragement after a loss to Indianapolis earlier this month. Last week, there was little in the way of improvement; the team was down 21-0 to Tennessee by the end of the first quarter. The loss dropped the Packers to 9-12 in their last 21 games, a record made worse by the fact the NFC North appears ripe for the taking this season. A reeling Vikings team, a Lions group that has been inconsistent and the horror story known as the Bears have kept the Packers in it &ndash; if they could only get their act together.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Compare that to the Redskins (5-3-1), a team that stumbled to start 2016 but has been gelling as of late. Quarterback <strong>Kirk Cousins</strong> is back on track as a clubhouse leader, the offensive weapons around him are improving and Washington currently owns the second wild card spot entering tonight&rsquo;s game. The hold is tenuous, just a half-game over NFC East rival Philadelphia but divisional tiebreakers could keep the Redskins on top if they win games at home they&rsquo;re supposed to win. This reeling Packers team, at least on paper, counts as one of them especially with a <a href="/nfl/thanksgiving-day-nfl-tv-games-times-schedule-channel-2016">Thanksgiving Day</a> tilt against the Cowboys four days later. A record of 5-5-1 entering Week 13 seemingly would be a tough road to navigate to get back to the playoffs.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em><strong>Series History:</strong></em> Packers lead 20-14-1 and have won six of the last seven meetings.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Green Bay at Washington</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Kickoff:</strong> Sunday, Nov. 20 at 8:30 p.m. ET<br />
<strong>TV Channel:</strong> NBC<br />
<strong>Spread:</strong> Redskins -2.5</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Three Things to Watch</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>1. Which quarterback will have the better game?</strong><br />
Early this season, Aaron Rodgers was the reason Green Bay was struggling. Not anymore. While his yards per pass attempt numbers are off (6.5, 29th in the NFL) he&rsquo;s picked up the pace considerably over the last three games. With 914 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions, two during last week&rsquo;s blowout loss to Tennessee, you shouldn&rsquo;t be pointing the finger in his direction at this point.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Rodgers&rsquo; rise also has coincided with a jump in Jordy Nelson&rsquo;s performance. Nelson has 314 receiving yards and three touchdowns in his last three games, as it appears he is fully recovered from last season&rsquo;s torn ACL. Davante Adams also has had some breakout performances during the losing streak, peaking with 156 yards last Sunday.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>But while Rodgers may be back to normal, Cousins has gone step-for-step on the field with one of the game&rsquo;s best quarterbacks. In fact, one could argue he&rsquo;s been even better than two-time MVP over the last three games. During that stretch, Cousins has thrown for 1,021 yards with five touchdowns and just one interception, leading Washington to a 1-1-1 record. He has avoided the type of red zone mistakes that dogged him in the first two games of the season while relying on pleasant surprises like tight end Vernon Davis to come through in the clutch.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Each team relies heavily on its signal-caller. The quarterback that plays better (and makes fewer mistakes) could be the difference between these two evenly-matched opponents.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>2. Can Green Bay&rsquo;s defense get it together?</strong><br />
No question, Marcus Mariota is one of the talented young quarterbacks in the NFL today. But the Packers made him look like the league MVP. Mariota went 19-for-26 for 295 yards, four touchdowns and didn&rsquo;t throw an interception. His QB rating of 149.8 was a season high and bested only by his perfect 158.3 mark he posted in his pro debut last season against Tampa Bay.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>What is wrong with this Packers D, giving away points at the alarming rate of 26 per game (24th in the NFL)? For one thing, Green Bay is not forcing turnovers. The team has a minus-4 differential this year and has recovered three fumbles. The only teams with fewer are the Browns, Jaguars, and Giants. It&rsquo;s also perfectly fair to say that Rodgers was spot on in his assessment of a lack of energy or even urgency by the team as a whole. Take last week against Tennessee, a team that is clearly rebuilding, who basically took control of the game in the first quarter and put the supposed Super Bowl contenders in a hole they couldn&rsquo;t get out of. And two weeks ago in Atlanta, the Packers didn&rsquo;t offer much resistance against Matt Ryan and the Falcons&rsquo; offense even after Rodgers had staked Green Bay to lead with less than four minutes remaining. In the end it really comes down to a talented team that&rsquo;s full of playmakers not answering the bell or rising to the occasion.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>3. Can DeSean Jackson have an impact?</strong><br />
The Redskins&rsquo; offense, ranked fourth in the NFL, has been succeeding in large part without its deep threat. Jackson, who missed last week&rsquo;s game with a shoulder injury, is listed as questionable on the injury report. He is reportedly on track to play, but could be a game-time decision. Whether he starts or not hasn&rsquo;t made much of a difference all season; the veteran wide receiver has scored just once and hasn&rsquo;t totaled more than 55 yards in any game since Week 3. He is averaging less than 14 yards per catch, a career low, and his longest play of the season is 44 yards.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Is Jackson healthy enough to get separation and break off a long one? Green Bay&rsquo;s pass defense is about as good a matchup as he will probably see. With three consecutive road games (at Dallas, Arizona, Philadelphia) on tap for Washington, it&rsquo;s important to get Jackson involved in the offense. Tight end Vernon Davis has overachieved this season, while fellow tight end Jordan Reed and wide receivers Jamison Crowder and Pierre Garcon have done their part. But no one on the Redskins possesses a healthy Jackson&rsquo;s big-play ability.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Final Analysis</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFL_Logos/2013Officials/Packers.jpg" style="width: 110px; height: 72px; margin: 4px; float: right;" />Momentum seems to be against Green Bay right now. But Aaron Rodgers, who has shown signs of life in recent weeks, won&rsquo;t let his team go down without a fight. A loss tonight to Washington would make the Packers&rsquo; road to the playoffs that much more difficult, so hopefully Green Bay will finally play with some of the fire, passion and urgency that have been missing. These Packers are just too talented to not have some success in topsy-turvy NFC.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Prediction: Green Bay 21, Washington 17</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&mdash; Written by Tom Bowles, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="https://www.Twitter.com/NASCARBowles">@NASCARBowles</a>.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-event-sport field-type-list-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Sport:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> NFL</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sport-event-date field-type-datetime field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Sunday, November 20, 2016 - 20:30</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sport-event-location field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">FedEx Field, 1600 Fedex Way, Hyattsville, MD 20785</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-nfl-away-team field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Away Team:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/green-bay-packers">Green Bay Packers</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-nfl-home-team field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Home Team:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/washington-redskins">Washington Redskins</a></div></div></div>Sun, 20 Nov 2016 13:45:00 +0000Tom Bowles111445 at http://athlonsports.comWashington Redskins vs. Cincinnati Bengals Preview and Predictionhttp://athlonsports.com/nfl/washington-redskins-vs-cincinnati-bengals-preview-and-prediction-2016
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/AFC%20North/Bengals/AndyDalton_2015_300.jpg" style="width: 325px; height: 425px; margin: 6px; float: right;" />Redskins, Bengals, you can&rsquo;t hop on a plane soon enough. The <a href="/nfl"><strong>NFL</strong></a>&rsquo;s flirtation with London hasn&rsquo;t exactly brought Super Bowl-contending teams overseas this season, perhaps another reason, in a long list of them, for the decline in TV ratings. The first two games, played at Wembley and Twickenham Stadiums, respectively featured four teams with a combined record of 12-16.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Those numbers aren&rsquo;t exactly the type of &ldquo;marquee matchups&rdquo; you want for a bunch of early Sunday morning games that highlight the growing effort for the NFL to expand internationally. I mean...&nbsp;the Jaguars? The Rams? We&rsquo;re more likely to see a third-party candidate like Jill Stein in the White House than we are either one of those teams in the Super Bowl.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The third and final edition of overseas football though brings two potential playoff teams to England. Washington, after an ugly start seems poised to challenge Dallas in the NFC East while its opponent, Cincinnati has a streak of five consecutive postseason appearances. Both have dynamic wide receivers capable of catching the deep ball (A.J. Green, DeSean Jackson); they also have much-maligned quarterbacks (<strong>Andy Dalton</strong>, Kirk Cousins) who have gotten their act together as of late.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Both teams also have the benefit of a bye week after London, putting them in position to rest up after the long trip. With tough schedules ahead for each team, especially the Redskins, it&rsquo;s a high-energy game that&rsquo;ll be the perfect cap to a 2016 London series packed with fans but that&rsquo;s lacked the punch of quality play the NFL is known for.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Series History: Cincinnati Leads 5-4 (Bengals have won past three meetings, Redskins last won in 1991)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Washington at Cincinnati</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Kickoff:</strong> Sunday, Oct. 30 at 9:30 a.m. ET<br />
<strong>TV Channel:</strong> FOX<br />
<strong>Spread:</strong> Bengals -5.5</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Three Things to Watch</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>1. Can the Redskins recover from a close loss?</strong><br />
For 59 minutes, Washington played a solid game in Detroit last week. Up 17-13 with 1:05 on the clock, a fifth straight win seemed well in hand. Kirk Cousins, whose efficiency has been questioned and who had fumbled twice earlier in the game, answered the bell when he needed to, positioning his team for a hard-earned road victory. That&rsquo;s what the team and fans want, right?</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Too bad in this case, Cousins was a little too efficient while the Redskins&rsquo; strong defense suddenly collapsed. Matthew Stafford drove the Lions 75 yards in 49 seconds, carving up Washington&rsquo;s defense and scoring the game-winning touchdown with just 16 second remaining. Just like that, it was Detroit leaving Ford Field with all of the momentum, while the Redskins were headed back home reeling. To make matters worse, shutdown cornerback Josh Norman left the game with a concussion, part of why the Redskins gave up 250 passing yards &ndash; the most in a game since their win streak started in Week 3.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Norman, who is officially listed as Questionable for Sunday&rsquo;s game, did travel with the team to London, as did tight end (also dealing with a concussion) Jordan Reed. Even if Norman doesn&rsquo;t play, Washington&rsquo;s D should give Cincinnati all it can handle, especially if the Redskins can get back to pressuring the quarterback. Their 19 sacks are tied for seventh in the NFL through Week 7 and the scheme itself was working until getting beaten by Detroit&rsquo;s two-minute drill offense.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>As for Washington on that side of the ball, the offense was more inconsistent against the Lions than it has been in recent weeks, but has developed a solid receiving corps for Cousins to spread the ball around to. While DeSean Jackson has struggled a bit Jamison Crowder (7 catches, 108 yards Sunday) has stood out as a go-to possession guy. Former 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (68 yards Sunday) also has done a great job filling in for Reed.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>To sum it up, nothing is broken right now with the Redskins. They need to keep this in mind as they look to rebound from last week&rsquo;s difficult loss while dealing with the unique circumstances of Sunday&rsquo;s game, not to mention their opponent.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>2. Will the Bengals&rsquo; offense keep rolling?</strong><br />
Even though it was against the hapless Browns, Cincinnati had perhaps its best offensive performance of the season last week. Besides scoring a season-high 31 points, the Bengals had a balanced attack from their best players: 300-yard passing game from Andy Dalton, a season-best 168 rushing yards rushing from Jeremy Hill and 169 receiving yards from A.J. Green.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>But there were other, more subtle indicators that additional improvement should be expected. There was the much-anticipated return of tight end Tyler Eifert, whose snaps were limited and recorded just one reception, but he figures to play a much bigger role in London. For the first time all season, the offense also converted at least 50 percent of its third down conversions (5 of 10) and committed just three penalties.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>When Dalton is in rhythm, that&rsquo;s when the offense seems to click. He was interception- and fumble-free once again and he&rsquo;s only thrown two picks this year. Can he keep that momentum rolling against a team that will put pressure on him? And can the offensive line step up, protect their QB as well as they did last week and give their litany of offensive weapons an opportunity to spread the field with their speed?</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>3. Can the Bengals (or Redskins) beat a quality opponent?</strong><br />
For Cincinnati, this season has mirrored the team&rsquo;s frustrating pattern of stalling out somewhere in the AFC&rsquo;s middle tier. In the Bengals&rsquo; three wins, they&rsquo;ve outscored opponents 76-46, and have looked impressive on both sides of the ball. However, those victories are against the Jets, Dolphins and Browns, teams that enter Week 8 with a collective record 5-16.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>On the flip side, Cincinnati has been outscored 116-64, nearly a 2-to-1 margin, in its four losses to New England, Dallas, Denver and Pittsburgh. These teams are currently leading or are tied for first in their respective division. In each of those games, the outcome was decided long before the final whistle as the Bengals did not appears to be on the same level as each of these potential Super Bowl contenders.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>What we have then is a franchise that beats the bad teams only to get beaten up by the good ones. At some point, you need a quality win; the schedule dictates that with six of Cincinnati&rsquo;s remaining nine games against teams with winning records. It&rsquo;s been the knock against head coach Marvin Lewis and one he&rsquo;ll need to fix if the team is to earn a sixth straight playoff appearance.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>As for Washington, a brutal upcoming slate of games ensures that, at least on paper, the Bengals are one of the &ldquo;weakest&rdquo; opponents it will play. Following the Week 9 bye, the Redskins&rsquo; next five games are against the Vikings, Packers, Cowboys, Cardinals and Eagles, with the last three coming on the road. Heading into the bye with a 5-3 record versus 4-4 becomes crucial.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Final Analysis</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFL_Logos/2013Officials/Redskins.jpg" style="width: 90px; height: 97px; margin: 4px; float: right;" />Cincinnati may be the designated &ldquo;home&rdquo; team, but the London locale neutralizes home-field advantage. Even after last week&rsquo;s crushing loss, Washington enters this game having won four of its past five. Assuming the Redskins can put the sting of that Detroit loss behind them, then it&rsquo;s full steam ahead behind an offensive attack that improves with each passing week.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Prediction: Redskins 27, Bengals 17</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&mdash; Written by Tom Bowles, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="https://www.Twitter.com/NASCARBowles">@NASCARBowles</a>.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-event-sport field-type-list-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Sport:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> NFL</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sport-event-date field-type-datetime field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Sunday, October 30, 2016 - 09:30</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sport-event-location field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London HA9 0WS, United Kingdom</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-nfl-away-team field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Away Team:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/washington-redskins">Washington Redskins</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-nfl-home-team field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Home Team:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/nfl-teams/cincinnati-bengals">Cincinnati Bengals</a></div></div></div>Fri, 28 Oct 2016 20:50:00 +0000Tom Bowles111126 at http://athlonsports.comPhiladelphia Eagles vs. Washington Redskins Preview and Predictionhttp://athlonsports.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles-vs-washington-redskins-preview-and-prediction-2016
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><img alt="" src="http://static.athlonsports.com/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFC%20East/Eagles/CarsonWentz_2016_325_philadelphiaeagles.jpg" style="width: 325px; height: 425px; margin: 6px; float: right;" />Heading into this season not much was expected within a rebuilding NFC East. You had the Eagles trade away their starting quarterback, choose to go with rookie <strong>Carson Wentz</strong> and adjusting to a first-year coach. The Cowboys starting a rookie of their own, Dak Prescott with Tony Romo hurt; the Giants were adjusting to a new head coach, too, having parted ways with future Hall of Famer Tom Coughlin. It looked like the Redskins, on the strength of Kirk Cousins and an impressive defense would be the heavy favorites to repeat as division champs in a cakewalk.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Welp, as Chris Berman would say: <em>That&rsquo;s why they play the games.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Heading into this weekend of play, the NFC East has a combined record of 12-7, best of any NFL division. The Redskins, sitting at 3-2 are actually in <em>third place</em> behind the upstart Cowboys and Eagles, showcasing flashy rookie QBs that impress.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the meantime, three of the Redskins&rsquo; four games following this weekend are against playoff teams from last season: the Bengals, Vikings and Packers. Lose this weekend and 4-6 is a possible outcome 10 games in. A playoff bid and the division may already be slipping away.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>That makes Sunday&rsquo;s mission 100 percent crystal clear. Suddenly, the preseason favorites to walk all over the East could be fighting for their playoff lives.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em><strong>Series History:</strong></em>&nbsp;Redskins lead 84-74-6, have won last three meetings.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Philadelphia at Washington</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Kickoff:</strong> Sunday, Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. ET</p>
<p><strong>TV Channel:</strong>&nbsp;FOX</p>
<p><strong>Spread:</strong>&nbsp;Eagles -3</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Three Things to Watch</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>1. Will Wentz and company face a reality check?</strong></p>
<p>Carson Wentz finally came crashing to earth late last week. Throwing his first career NFL interception while running the 2-minute drill, Wentz could only watch as the Lions ran out the clock on his first defeat. A Ryan Mathews fumble, the team&rsquo;s first turnover of&nbsp;the season&nbsp;in the fourth quarter started a downward spiral that saw the Eagles trip up on the road following their bye.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Wentz&rsquo;s pick, a poor choice to throw a deep heave on first down with 1:28 remaining, is one he&rsquo;d like back. The question now is how the team responds. The offense&nbsp;was&nbsp;clicking last week as Wentz continues to do an excellent job of spreading the ball around to B-level receivers. After a sluggish start, six players caught at least three balls and they still racked up 23 points. One turnover doesn&rsquo;t take that away.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Mistakes will happen and the Eagles, who have found a rhythm under this offensive scheme simply need to keep on chugging. Young teams will either do that or get caught up in the mental mess of giving games away for a month, turning a 3-1 start into a 3-5 mess in a hurry. Wentz, who underwent some positive news this week for leaving a $500 tip at the bar in a trip back to North Dakota seems to be a kid that puts bad days behind him.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>We&rsquo;re about to find out if this team keeps believing in itself.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>2. Can Cousins keep it going...&nbsp;along with Washington&rsquo;s D?</strong></p>
<p>So much of the Redskins&rsquo; success depends on solid QB play. Kirk Cousins has gotten it together the last three weeks after much of the D.C. area was calling for his head: six touchdowns, two interceptions, and a modest 739 passing yards during this three-game win streak.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>But the Eagles offer a different challenge than the middling Giants, Browns, and Ravens. Their 14 sacks are tied for third in the NFC while the defense has forced a turnover in each of the season&rsquo;s first four games. Cousins will need to withstand some pressure and not get caught holding the ball too long. He also needs to get better in the red zone, where Cousins went 5-for-17 with one touchdown and two interceptions to start the season 0-2 before picking things up as of late.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The QB also could use another assist from the defense. The Redskins have, at times, underachieved on that side of the ball this season but have showed some signs of life the last three weeks &ndash; seven takeaways, 19.0 points per game allowed. Something&rsquo;s got to give as the Eagles have scored at least 23 points in every game this season.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>3. Who will step up for Jordan Reed?</strong></p>
<p>Reed, whose 33 receptions have him tied for the NFC lead, suffered a concussion last week against the Ravens. While he played the entire game, symptoms weren&rsquo;t evident until Tuesday, a delayed reaction that puts his status for Sunday in doubt.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Assuming Reed is out, all eyes turn to former Eagle DeSean Jackson. The deep threat has been inconsistent this year, posting more than 100 receiving yards just once (Week 1), while catching just four passes the last two games. But Jackson, still holding a grudge toward his former franchise, once put his best foot forward in this matchup. In 2014, his first year playing against the Eagles, he totaled nine receptions, 243 yards and a touchdown in two games.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Last season, Jackson was hurt for one of the Eagles games and a bit player in the other one. But the Redskins need him to be the x-factor again, spreading the field and creating space for running back Matt Jones. Pierre Garcon may be the more consistent wide receiver on this team but Jackson has a higher ceiling if he&rsquo;d just give 110 percent.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>You also wonder how tight end Vernon Davis, once a pass-catching force with the 49ers, will be used in a non-Reed game plan. The assumption is Niles Paul will be worked into the rotation but don&rsquo;t discount Davis; he still has big-play ability.</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">&nbsp;</h4>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Final Analysis</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img alt="" src="http://static.athlonsports.com/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFL_Logos/2013Officials/Redskins.jpg" style="width: 90px; height: 97px; margin: 4px; float: right;" />The Eagles had a return to reality last week as Carson Wentz and the offense experienced growing pains. They&rsquo;ve overachieved thus far while the Redskins understand the sense of urgency behind Sunday&rsquo;s game. Expect a close one, turnovers deciding the outcome but in the end, Kirk Cousins should steady the ship enough to leave the Redskins fully dug out from their ugly 0-2 start to the season.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Prediction: Washington 24, Philadelphia 20</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&mdash; Written by Tom Bowles, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter <a href="https://www.Twitter.com/NASCARBowles">@NASCARBowles</a>.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>(Carson Wentz photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com" target="_blank">www.philadelphiaeagles.com</a>)</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sport-event-date field-type-datetime field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Event Date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Friday, October 14, 2016 - 09:33</span></div></div></div>Fri, 14 Oct 2016 19:30:00 +0000Tom Bowles110901 at http://athlonsports.comDallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins Preview and Predictionhttp://athlonsports.com/nfl/dallas-cowboys-vs-washington-redskins-preview-and-prediction-2016
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFC%20East/Redskins/KirkCousins_2015_300.jpg" style="width: 325px; height: 425px; margin: 6px; float: right;" />One of football&#39;s oldest, feistiest rivalries packs a little extra punch this weekend down in the nation&#39;s capital. Both the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, each still smarting from a rough Week 1, are trying to avoid the ruin of two season-opening losses. In the last nine years, 75 <a href="/nfl" target="_blank"><strong>NFL</strong></a> teams have started the year&nbsp;0-2; only 9.3 percent of them have fought back to make the postseason.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>For two of the sport&#39;s most popular franchises, both of whom carry the weight of playoff expectations, it&#39;s clear&nbsp;they can&#39;t dig too deep of a hole. The Cowboys&nbsp;find themselves especially vulnerable, fighting without prized quarterback Tony Romo for at least another month while he recovers from a broken vertebra. Forced to start rookie Dak Prescott under center, the Cowboys&#39; schedule after this one&nbsp;includes back-to-back games versus the Bengals and Packers in early October. Add in losses there and a defeat to the Redskins would leave&nbsp;the Cowboys&nbsp;at best with a 2-4 record and desperate for Romo.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Can the Cowboys take a step forward this week? Whether their rookie backfield&nbsp;can do just that&nbsp;is one of three keys to Sunday&#39;s game at FedEx Field. &nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Series History:&nbsp;</strong>It&#39;s the 113th meeting between two of the sport&#39;s historic teams (Dallas and Washington have won eight Super Bowls between them). Dallas leads the all-time series 66-44-2.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Dallas at Washington</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Kickoff:</strong> Sunday, Sept. 18 at&nbsp;1 p.m. ET&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>TV Channel:&nbsp;</strong>FOX</p>
<p><strong>Spread:&nbsp;</strong>Washington -3.5</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Three Things to Watch</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>1.&nbsp;Can the Duo of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott Push Forward?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>All eyes remain on the Cowboys&#39; quarterback situation. Prescott&#39;s debut last week, paired with Elliott, made them the first rookie QB/RB combo to start for the team in Week 1&nbsp;since 1969. Against the Giants, however, the pair did not&nbsp;conjure&nbsp;up memories of Roger Staubach and Calvin Hill. While Prescott was mistake-free, hitting 25 of 45 passes for 227 yards, he failed to throw for a touchdown and averaged only 5.0 yards per pass attempt. Prescott also struggled to land the ball in the hands of star receiver Dez Bryant, who&nbsp;had just one catch&nbsp;for eight yards and was targeted only five times. (Compare that to tight end Jason Witten, catching nine passes on 14 targets).</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The running game had its own set of problems. Take Elliott&#39;s eight-yard touchdown rush away and he averaged a measly 2.2 yards per carry. The duo&#39;s difficulty in producing breakout plays led to an inability to close the deal in the red zone;&nbsp;a 1-for-3 clip kept the Giants in it and ultimately allowed a fourth-quarter, Eli Manning-led comeback.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>2.&nbsp;Can Kirk Cousins Shake Off The Slow Start?</strong></p>
<p>Cousins made some crucial mistakes last week against the Steelers, throwing two interceptions in a 38-16 thrashing coming at the hands of one of the expected Super Bowl contenders out of the AFC. But Redskins fans shouldn&#39;t be surprised; Cousins started out the same way last year. Six weeks into the season, he had just six touchdowns, eight interceptions and&nbsp;only one game where his QB rating finished above 100.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>After that, Cousins turned things around and then some - throwing just three picks in the&nbsp;nine regular season games before what happened on Monday night. Bouncing back should be easier for him this year, especially with so many weapons at his disposal. DeSean Jackson looked to be in prime shape,&nbsp;catching six passes for 102 yards and Jordan Reed, Pierre Garcon and even Vernon Davis give him plenty of options. Cousins can&#39;t make those mistakes consistently and since he wants to be paid like an elite quarterback, he needs to show that he can learn from a rough game instead of letting it carry over to the next one.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>3.&nbsp;The Kicking Game?</strong></p>
<p>Yes, the kicking game. Two of the last four meetings between these two have been decided by three points or fewer. One went to overtime, putting the pressure on Dallas&#39; Dan Bailey and Washington&#39;s&nbsp;Dustin Hopkins&nbsp;to perform this Sunday.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>And they should do just that. With struggling offenses, these kickers combined to go 7-for-7&nbsp;on field goals in Week 1. In Bailey&#39;s case, he connected on two from beyond 50 yards.&nbsp;In a game with young teams making their share of mistakes it very well could be the first team that blinks&nbsp;on special teams that loses the edge.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Final Analysis</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/NFL_Logos/2013Officials/Redskins.jpg" style="width: 90px; height: 97px; margin: 4px; float: right;" />Washington didn&#39;t look good Monday night. But the Steelers, armed with arguably the NFL&#39;s most potent offense,&nbsp;are going to make a lot of teams look foolish this season. It&#39;s important for the Redskins&nbsp;to get back on track, especially&nbsp;against a team&nbsp;they need to distance themselves from while Tony Romo is hurt. It&#39;s hard to imagine they&#39;ll waste an opportunity to put this Dallas&nbsp;team away&nbsp;on their home turf.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Prediction: Washington 27, Dallas 17</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&mdash; Written by Tom Bowles, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. Follow him on&nbsp;Twitter <a href="https://www.Twitter.com/NASCARBowles">@NASCARBowles</a>.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>(Top photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com" target="_blank">Getty Images</a>)</em></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 16 Sep 2016 17:45:00 +0000Tom Bowles110465 at http://athlonsports.comWhy You Must Start DeSean Jackson and Other WR/TE Start/Sit Fantasy Advice For Week 2http://athlonsports.com/fantasy/why-you-must-start-desean-jackson-and-other-wr-te-start-sit-fantasy-advice-week-2-2016
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/AFC%20East/Dolphins/JarvisLandry_2014_300.jpg" style="width: 325px; height: 425px; margin: 6px; float: right;" />Some surprises, both the good and bad kind, in Week 1 in terms of <a href="/fantasy" target="_blank"><strong>fantasy</strong></a> performances by wide receivers and tight ends. Before we look ahead to Week 2, let&rsquo;s see how my Week 1 advice fared.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Good Calls...</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Start Donte Moncrief (12.4 fantasy points) &ndash;</strong> The Colts&#39; offense is going to score A LOT of points this year.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Sit Jarvis Landry (5.9 FP) &ndash;</strong> Landry was in a tough spot going up against the Seahawks in Week 1, he&rsquo;ll rebound this week.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Start Dwayne Allen (13.3 FP) &ndash;</strong> Once again Allen scored a touchdown in the season opener.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Bad Calls...</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Start Golden Tate (4.3 FP) &ndash;</strong> In a game where Matthew Stafford threw for more than 300 yards, Tate managed only 41.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Start Coby Fleener (0.6 FP) &ndash;</strong> In a shootout with the Raiders, somehow Fleener managed only one catch for six yards.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>I also warned you against starting Jeremy Maclin, who happened to catch five balls for 63 yards with one touchdown, which was good for 12.2 fantasy points.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">Positional Rankings: <a href="/fantasy/fantasy-football-2016-quarterback-rankings-week-2" target="_blank">QB</a>&nbsp;I&nbsp;<a href="/fantasy/fantasy-football-2016-running-back-rankings-week-2" target="_blank">RB</a>&nbsp;I&nbsp;<a href="/fantasy/fantasy-football-2016-wide-receiver-rankings-week-2" target="_blank">WR</a>&nbsp;I&nbsp;<a href="/fantasy/fantasy-football-2016-tight-end-rankings-week-2" target="_blank">TE</a>&nbsp;I&nbsp;<a href="/fantasy/fantasy-football-2016-defense-special-teams-rankings-week-2" target="_blank">DST</a>&nbsp;I&nbsp;<a href="/fantasy/fantasy-football-2016-kicker-rankings-week-2" target="_blank">K</a>&nbsp;I <a href="/fantasy/fantasy-football-2016-flex-rankings-week-2" target="_blank">Flex</a></h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 class="athlon-large-title" style="font-family:tungsten-semibold;font-size:42px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;padding:0;">Wide Receivers</h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">START THESE WRs...</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Travis Benjamin, SD (vs. JAC)</strong></p>
<p>Keenan Allen&lsquo;s torn ACL has paved the way for Benjamin to get even more playing time. Benjamin will now start opposite of Dontrelle Inman on the outside, and should see an uptick in targets from this point on. Benjamin, who put up 966 yards receiving and five touchdowns a season ago with mediocre quarterback play in Cleveland, now has Philp Rivers throwing to him. That combination has the potential to be very enticing for fantasy owners. The Chargers will host the Jaguars in Week 2, a defense that finished 29th against the pass last season. All signs point towards giving Benjamin a start in Week 2.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Related:&nbsp;<a href="/fantasy/5-wide-receiver-replacements-fantasy-owners-keenan-allen" target="_blank">5 Wide Recevier Replacements for Fantasy Owners With Keenan Allen on Team</a></strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Jordan Matthews, PHI (at CHI, Mon.)</strong></p>
<p>Matthews had quite the start to the season, catching seven of 14 targets for 114 yards and one touchdown, good for 17.4 fantasy points. This week Matthews has a solid matchup ahead against the Bears. Last week, Chicago surrendered almost 30 fantasy points to Houston&#39;s WRs, including two touchdowns. Combined that with Matthews&rsquo; early rapport with Carson Wentz, and he is now on the WR2/3 radar for Week 2.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>DeSean Jackson, WAS (vs. DAL)</strong></p>
<p>Jackson was Kirk Cousins&#39; main passing option in Week 1 against the Steelers, where he caught six of 10 targets for 102 yards. He&rsquo;s always going to be the team&rsquo;s top deep threat and that should be on full display this week as Jackson gets to play what seems to be his favorite opponent, the Dallas Cowboys. He&#39;s put up no fewer than 12 fantasy points in each of his last three games against them. That includes one game with 136 yards and two others where he scored a touchdown. When you also consider the question marks on the current Dallas defense, Jackson becomes a nice option.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">MIGHT BE WORTH THE RISK...</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Sterling Shepard, NYG (vs. NO)</strong></p>
<p>As a 4.5-point home favorite in a game with a huge over/under of 53, the G-Men boast one of the highest projected team totals of Week 2 at 28.75. In Week 1, Shepard and Victor Cruz were each targeted four times, each caught a touchdown and were each on the field for the majority of the game (Shepard 53 of 56 offensive snaps, Cruz 50 of 56), as the Giants mostly used 3-WR sets. While that makes it difficult to know who to trust, Shepard looked great in his NFL debut, and even with Cruz involved, there should be enough opportunity and success against the Saints&#39; cobbled together secondary for Shepard to make some big plays.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">SIT THESE WRs...</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Randall Cobb, GB (at MIN)</strong></p>
<p>It looks like we should be expecting more of the 2015 version of Cobb this season, even with Jordy Nelson back. Cobb isn&rsquo;t off to a great start, posting 57 yards and no touchdowns in a win over the Jaguars. This could continue against the Vikings, which have held him to 258 yards (36.8 YPG) and two touchdowns in seven career meetings. Cobb is difficult to sit, so if you do start him it should be with real caution.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>T.Y. Hilton, IND (at DEN)</strong></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/AFC%20South/Colts/TYHilton_2015_300.jpg" style="width: 325px; height: 425px; margin: 6px; float: right;" />Andrew Luck looked like the 2014 version last week as he carved up the Lions for 385 yards and four touchdowns. But in a game where Luck threw the ball 47 times, Hilton only had six catches for 79 yards and zero touchdowns, good for only 7.9 fantasy points. Teammates Donte Moncrief and Phillip Dorsett both lapped Hilton on the stat sheet. He could be in for another tough week against CBs Aqib Talib, Chris Harris and a Broncos&rsquo; pass defense that is among the toughest in the league.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>John Brown, ARI (vs. TB)</strong></p>
<p>After missing much of the preseason with a concussion, he played just 35 snaps (59 for Larry Fitzgerald, 58 for Michael Floyd) and wasn&#39;t even the most-targeted Brown on the team (Jaron Brown had six compared to John&rsquo;s four). A home matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a high projected team total (28.25) may make it tempting to play Brown, but it&#39;s really difficult to trust him with a shaky role as the No. 4 target (behind Fitzgerald, Floyd and David Johnson) at best.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 class="athlon-large-title" style="font-family:tungsten-semibold;font-size:42px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;padding:0;">Tight Ends</h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">START THESE TEs...</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Coby Fleener, NO (at NYG)</strong></p>
<p>Was there a bigger fantasy bust in Week 1 than Fleener? All preseason everyone and their grandma was predicting what wonderful things Fleener was going to do in the Saints&rsquo; offense and what did he do in Week 1? He scored a pathetic 0.6 fantasy points on one measly catch for six yards. There are real concerns about Fleener because he has struggled to learn the playbook, but if he is going to have the season that everyone expects him to have, this is the game to show it as the Giants have done a poor job defending tight ends the past couple of years.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Jason Witten, DAL (at WAS)</strong></p>
<p>The old guy still has it, and Dak Prescott is currently most comfortable making intermediate passes. Witten saw 14 targets, and like the days of old he didn&rsquo;t see the end zone. But that will have to change, and he&rsquo;s game flow-proof.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Antonio Gates, SD (vs. JAC)</strong><br />
The Chargers are down two wide receivers (Keenan Allen, Stevie Johnson), and there are not a lot of experienced options around aside from Travis Benjamin. So who is Philip Rivers going to lean on when it&rsquo;s third-and-6 or he&rsquo;s in the red zone? You guessed it, his old favorite target. Gates will see more than his share of offensive opportunities against the Jaguars. Their defense allowed the sixth-most points to TEs last year.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">MIGHT BE WORTH THE RISK...</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Gary Barnidge, CLE (vs. BAL)</strong></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/athlonsports.com/files/shared/nfl/AFC%20North/GaryBarnidge_2015_300.jpg" style="width: 325px; height: 425px; margin: 6px; float: right;" />Last year&rsquo;s TE surprise laid a goose egg in Week 1, but Robert Griffin III is likely out for the season, so in comes Josh McCown with whom Barnidge had undeniable chemistry in 2015. Barnidge averaged more than 14 fantasy points a game while McCown was in the lineup, and there&rsquo;s no reason for this to change. Barnidge also put up a combined 15 catches, 230 yards and a score versus Baltimore in 2015.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">SIT THESE TEs...</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Dwayne Allen, IND (at DEN)</strong></p>
<p>You had to like what you saw from Allen in Week 1. Andrew Luck looked his way early and often, especially in the red zone, where the two hooked up for one touchdown and narrowly missed a second. While that translates into a good season-long outlook for Allen, this isn&rsquo;t the week to give him a go. The Broncos boast some of the best cover linebackers in the league, and rarely allow scores to tight ends. Look to stream another tight end this week.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Martellus Bennett, NE (vs. MIA)</strong></p>
<p>He&rsquo;s not looking like the TE we were hoping he&rsquo;d be for the Patriots. He had five targets, yes, but only caught three of them for a measly 14 yards. Right now the Patriots have a healthy Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan and a shockingly healthy Danny Amendola. Not to mention James White. Oh and it looks like some guy named Rob Gronkowski is going to play this week. Lots of mouths to feed and Bennett doesn&rsquo;t need to be one. He can catch a TD at any time, but let&rsquo;s not worry about that. Just sit him.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Jared Cook, GB (at MIN)</strong></p>
<p>Cook&rsquo;s strong preseason and combination of size and speed led some people to believe he could usurp incumbent tight end Richard Rogers as the starter. If Week 1 taught us anything, that has not yet happened. Cook nabbed just one pass for seven yards in a victory over Jacksonville, but clearly remains the second tight end on the depth chart in Green Bay. Traveling to Minnesota, which finished in the top half of the league against the pass, isn&rsquo;t a favorable matchup either, making Cook a bench player in Week 2. Cook has the potential to finally break out, but until the numbers tell us otherwise, he&rsquo;s best served as a backup/streaming option/bye week fill-in.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4 class="athlon-medium-title" style="font-family:helveticaneue-medium,helvetica;font-size:26px;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:0em;line-height:1em;margin:0;">YOU&rsquo;VE BEEN WARNED..</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Jimmy Graham, SEA (at LA)</strong></p>
<p>The whole tight end position last week was just terrible and contributing to the disaster was Graham, who shockingly played in Week 1 but only managed 11 yards receiving. Just because Graham is a big name and you might have drafted him way earlier then you should have, there is no reason to keep putting him out there for him to only score 1.1 fantasy points every week. Either try to trade him to someone who still thinks Graham has something left, or cut him and pick up Eric Ebron, Jesse James or even Virgil Green this week.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&mdash; Written by Michael Horvath, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. Horvath is a Canadian who also happens to be a fantasy football (not to be confused with CFL) and fitness nut. Follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/realmikehorvath" target="_blank">@realmikehorvath</a>.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>(Top photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.redskins.com" target="_blank">www.redskins.com</a>)</em></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 16 Sep 2016 12:30:00 +0000Michael Horvath110455 at http://athlonsports.com